Reuters | Lions Gate Entertainment Corp may be flirting with bankruptcy, according to Carl Icahn, the billionaire investor attempting a hostile takeover of the movie studio.

In an open letter to the Lions Gate board Friday, Icahn — whose interests owns about 19 percent of the company — said that if his stake grows another few percentage points, it would cause Lions Gate to default on certain credit facilities.

A Lions Gate spokeswoman said the company had no comment on Icahn’s letter.

If Lions Gate cannot find other funding or convince its lenders to waive defaults, it “may find it necessary to pursue a voluntary bankruptcy filing,” Icahn wrote.

“As one of the largest – and, I believe, soon to be the largest – shareholder of Lions Gate, I am extremely concerned about this possible eventuality and I would imagine that other shareholders are similarly afraid of having their equity wiped out,” Icahn said in the letter.

He noted that he has offered bridge financing to help the company refinance its debt and that Lions Gate has ignored the offer.

Icahn hopes to sway Lions Gate shareholders to accept his offer of $7-a-share for the company, which its board says is too low.

Lions Gates shares were up 5 cents to $7.04 in morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

Icahn has held Lions Gate shares since 2006 and has criticized management on the performance of the stock, which has fallen from a high of $12 in 2007 to around $7.

He stands to gain negotiating power in his battle to control Lions Gate after billionaire Mark Cuban on Thursday expressed interest in tendering his shares.

If Cuban sells his 5.4 percent stake in Lions Gate to Icahn, Icahn’s stake would surpass 20 percent, which could trigger a technical default in the company’s $340 million revolving loan facility from JP Morgan Chase & Co. Analysts expect that Lions Gate would obtain a waiver, but it would be a hindrance for management.